According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), members of the public who wish to exchange new notes for the upcoming Chinese New Year are required to make an appointment with their local banks (DBS, OCBC and UOB) before visiting the branch.
This announcement was made on 11 Jan 2021 and it is seen as an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus among the community.
The appointment can be booked through an online system and each bank would have the details on how to do the booking and the collections as well. However, people who are above the age of 60 or with disabilities were exempt from this requirement.
The pre-ordering of new notes will also be available at foreign banks such as Maybank and Standard Chartered. However, it is not made a must for their customers to use the booking system.